DIET

 

For most of us, our information concerning metabolism has related in one way or another to eating.  This article looks at some powerful and scientific diet-related tips that will boost your metabolism. Indeed, as you’ll soon learn, it’s not merely what you eat that matters; it’s when, and how, too.

 

Calories – love or hate?

 

We constantly come across calorie reduced or low calorie foods. And it’s not uncommon to overhear someone gasp about the immense calorie content of certain foods, such as a rich and creamy desert, or a giant fast food burger.

All of this calorie hype has made a lot of us pretty calorie-phobic; as soon as we see something that has lots of them, we run away. But is this wise?  

Yes, it’s wise in the sense that avoiding that double layer chocolate fudge cake for desert is a good idea. The calories that come from the cake are really going to be the so called empty calorie kind; which means that there’s no real nutritional value that your body can squeeze out and make use of. But in the bigger picture, it’s unwise for your metabolism to become calorie-avoidant. Why?

 

Because your body is a marvelous machine that tries, at all times, to do what it can to make your life easier. Indeed, while it may not always function at optimal levels, it still tries to do its very best. The body, for all of its limitations and so forth, is not a lazy thing! With this in mind, the body is always trying to keep it alive and functioning in the manner that it deems to be healthiest. And that’s why if you suddenly decrease the amount of calories that you need, your body won’t try to do more with less. In other words, your body won’t respond in the way that you want it to: it won’t necessarily reduce weight and fat cells.

Instead, your smart and wise body will try to keep you alive by slowing down its metabolism. It will simply believe that something is wrong – maybe you’re trapped somewhere without food – and it will just begin to become very stingy with energy. So what’s the end result? If your body needs 2000 calories a day to survive, and you suddenly give it only 1000, it won’t begin to burn off 1000 calories worth of cells that you have lying around on your love handles.

Instead, your body will slow down its metabolism. It will really try and get as much energy out of those 1000 calories, because it doesn’t want to waste anything. Physically, you’ll naturally feel more tired because your body is being very stingy with energy, and will devote its 1000-calorie ration to essential systems, like blood and oxygen supply (and others). Metabolically, you won’t be burning off extra calories.

 

If you can understand, that drinking a tasty fruit smoothie made with yogurt and nuts, containing high nutrition, can deliver half as many calories than a piece of chocolate cake with zero nutrition can, you are already half-way there.

 

Eat More?

 

Eating frequently throughout the day is very good for boosting metabolism. There are a couple of reasons for this.

 

·        People who tend to eat throughout the day do considerably less snacking. As a result, they tend to avoid the potato chips or candy bars that they might otherwise consume if they suddenly felt hungry. People who eat throughout the day don’t tend to experience severe hunger pangs, because they don’t reach that stage.

·         By eating throughout the day, you are constantly keeping your metabolism in motion. It’s kind of like having a generator run all the time; it will simply use more electricity than if you powered it on 3 times a day.

 

Now, it goes without saying that just because it’s good for metabolism-boosting to eat frequently, this doesn’t mean that you can eat junk all day long!

Rather, if you choose to eat more frequently, then you’ll certainly need to be very aware of what you eat; because you can easily exceed your required amount of daily calories if you don’t keep an eye on this.

 

What you want to focus on is HIGH NUTRTION – LOW CALORIE foods.

 

 

 

Eat Early

 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And in terms of boosting your metabolism, this is indeed the case! There are a couple of reasons why eating a hearty and healthy breakfast can boost metabolism and lead to weight loss goals.

 

• People who eat a low-fat, high-fiber breakfast are much less inclined to snack throughout the morning. Having a healthy snack at 10am (apple with nuts and plain yogurt) is necessary however you won’t be starving at that time forcing you to grab whatever is available, which is usually a donut, cupcake etc.
• Studies have shown that metabolism slows during sleep, and doesn’t typically get going again until you eat. Therefore, starting the day with breakfast is like kick starting your metabolism. You’ll actually burn more calories throughout the day, simply by eating a low-fat, high-fiber breakfast.

 

 Protein and Carbohydrates

 

There are some foods that are beneficial for metabolic boosting and some that aren’t; and the differences aren’t always well-known.

 

• Protein
  • Studies have shown that having enough protein in your system can actually increase the speed of your metabolism. This is because protein is difficult to break down. Or rather, it requires more energy to break down.
  • Ensure that your source of protein derives from lean protein. Typically, protein from some fish and chicken is lean; though not all of it. If you’re a vegetarian, or simply looking for non-meat lean protein alternatives, low-fat cheese, legumes (lentils), and yogurt are all good sources. Check the food labels to determine if the source of protein is lean (doesn’t deliver high fat content), or fatty.

 

• Carbohydrates
  • Refined carbohydrates like white bread, potatoes and white rice have a high glycemic index (GI) and cause a spike in insulin levels which promote fat storage.
  • The good kinds of carbohydrate to consume are complex carbohydrates like wholegrain bread and brown rice, those that are high in fiber, and those from fruit and vegetable sources.

 

Why?  These sources of carbohydrates don’t score high on the glycemic index (GI).  In other words, they don’t cause a spike in insulin levels, and therefore, they don’t promote fat storage

.

 

The next step – boosting your metabolism – is all up to you. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your better, leaner healthier life!

 

Happy training!